John Birmelin (October 31, 1873 – September 3, 1950) has been called the
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...
of the
Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
and is one of the most popular
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
s and
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
s in the
Pennsylvania German language
Pennsylvania Dutch (, or ), referred to as Pennsylvania German in scholarly literature, is a variety of Palatine German, also known as Palatine Dutch, spoken by the Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Fancy Dutch, and other descendants of G ...
.
Early life
Birmelin was born in
Longswamp Township, Pennsylvania
Longswamp Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,551 at the 2020 census.
History
The Long-Hawerter Mill and Mary Ann Furnace Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic ...
to a
Pennsylvania German mother and a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
father, who was a native of
Baden, Germany
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subse ...
. He studied music at a young age. By the age of 11, he was an
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
in the local church where his father was a member of the choir.
Career
In 1896, he moved to
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...
. In 1901, he accepted a job as the organist and choirmaster of Allentown's Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, a position he held until his retirement only weeks before his death in 1950. His successor as organist and choirmaster at Sacred Heart was
Karl Buesgen, Birmelin's student and noted
Pennsylvania impressionist landscape painter. Birmelin was also the first music teacher at
Allentown Central Catholic High School
Allentown Central Catholic High School (ACCHS) is a private, parochial school located at 301 North Fourth Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, ACCHS predominantly serves students from the Lehigh ...
, a position he held from 1926 to 1936.
Literary
Although he wrote some poetry and verse as a young child, Birmelin did not begin writing again until the later years of his life. During the early 1930s, Birmelin's poetry was included as part of "'S Pennsylvaanisch Deitsch Eck" ("The Pennsylvania Dutch Corner") column in ''
The Morning Call
''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after ''The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its Al ...
'', and writings from Birmelin were in 62 of the first 100 published columns. His most commercially successful work was ''Mammi Gans: The Dialect Nursery Rhymes of John Birmelin'', a
Pennsylvania German translation of many of the
Mother Goose
The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...
nursery rhymes. Birmelin's poetry often dealt with aspects of Pennsylvania German life and history. "Gwendeltee", one of his earliest works, is a poem about a beautiful
Pennsylvania German girl on a farm. "Regina Hartmann" tells about the return of a Pennsylvania German girl taken prisoner during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. "Der Laaf Kaaf" pertains to the
Walking Purchase
The Walking Purchase (or Walking Treaty) was a 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania, later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Lenape native Indians (also known as the Delaware Ind ...
.
Birmelin's Pennsylvania German translation of the song "
America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)
"America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columb ...
" (often known as "America") was, and still remains, regularly sung at
Fersommling and other Pennsylvania German events:
Legacy
According to Homer Tope Rosenberger, Birmelin "had the power to write compelling poetry in the dialect that makes one sad, or joyous, pensive, or reminiscent" and that Birmelin's poetry had "a special quality because he weighed carefully the sound of dialect words. Birmelin's poetry dealt with Pennsylvania German issues and life, "sometimes humorously and other times in serious vein" and he "wrote in the dialect with dignity, but with a warmth that went to the heart."
Bibliography
Plays
*''Der Gnopp''
*''M Dr. Fogel sei Office Schtunn''
Poems
*"'S Alder un der Dot"
*"Buchschtaaweschpielerei"
*"Celia von Berneville"
*"Gwendeltee"
*"Gezwitscher"
*"Der Laaf Kaaf"
*"Regina Hartmann"
Translations
*''Mammi Gans: The Dialect Nursery Rhymes of John Birmelin'' (a collection of
Mother Goose
The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...
rhymes translated into Pennsylvania German)
*"
My Country, 'Tis of Thee
"America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columb ...
" (often known as "America") (translated into Pennsylvania German)
*
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
's ''
A Child's Garden of Verses
''A Child's Garden of Verses'' is an 1885 volume of 64 poems for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions, and is considered to be one of the most influential child ...
'' (translated into Pennsylvania German)
Collections and anthologies
*Poems in "'S Pennsylvaanisch Deitsch Eck" ("The Pennsylvania Dutch Corner") column in ''
The Morning Call
''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after ''The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its Al ...
''
*''Gezwitscher'' (collection of poems, published in 1938 as part of the yearbook of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society)
*''Later Poems of John Birmelin'' (published 1951)
Resources
*Barba, Preston A. Introduction to ''Gezwitscher''. The
Pennsylvania German Society
The Pennsylvania German Society is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to studying the Pennsylvania German people and their 330-year history in the United States and Canada. The Society works to preserve and promote the history, cultu ...
, III. Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1938.
*Buffington, Albert F. (ed). ''The Reichard Collection of Early Pennsylvania German Plays''. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1962. Pages 398–439.
*Haag, Earl C. ''A Pennsylvania German Anthology''. Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna University Press, 1988.
*Rosenberger, Homer Tope. ''The Pennsylvania Germans, 1891-1965''. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1966. Pages 215–217.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birmelin, John
1873 births
1950 deaths
German-American history
Pennsylvania Dutch people
Poets from Pennsylvania
Writers from Allentown, Pennsylvania